winning author on his biography of presidential candidate wendell wilkie. ,> here was an internationalist a great civil libertarian, a man with civil rights convictions that would have matched, say, an obama, perhaps. liberal a man who was a and at the same time accessible to the role of government in the economy. but only to a great degree. i thought all the things about him were appealing, and his honesty. there is a part in the book where we have roosevelt asking wilkie to consider being his vice president when he is going to overthrow henry wallace, he wants somebody new. typical fdr. lkie says no. announcer: tonight at 8:00

eastern on "q&a" on c-span. >> leo is deputy editor of military times in his work is available at militarytimes.com. let me put a number on the table. 172. >> 172 veterans running for congress, about on par with what we saw two years ago, but the difference is a lot of these races are winnable for veterans. in the past we have seen younger veterans running in races where maybe they are tilting at windmills, districts that are heavily democrat and running as a republican, or vice versa. but with so many tossup races this year, we could see the number of veterans go up in congress in the next cycle, and that is significant because it has been on a steady decline since the 1970's. to a lot of americans, veterans are folks who have observed, who

have better knowledge of national security. we have heard from folks like senator mccain talking about the importance of bringing in folks who have a common background, who can work together better. veterans fit that bill. if we start to see a rise in that, do we see the discord drop? do we see common ground for folks to reveal the turmoil? host: is it mixed or do they tend to be more democratic or republican? guest: they are more republican. ofs cycle, with a number democrats, we have seen more democratic veterans, more female veterans. democratic veterans have made more of an open call this time, as we try and take back the house, this is a group that is going to help us build credibility.

they are going to be able to bring voters in and see we can be not just on the social care,, but on veterans' we can control that message. femalehere are four veterans. hawaii, arizona. guest: we could see that number double. see 14 women running in the house and senate this cycle. you mentioned arizona, a competitive race. if she wins, she becomes not just another republican but a senior female voice on national security issues in the senate. host: markie ms. sally is on the air with his sad. [video clip] >> everyone remembers where they

were a 9/11. i was the first woman to fly a fighter jet in combat. i know the price of freedom. way, we were in harm's others were denigrating our service. we need strong leaders who understand the threat and respect our truce. i approve this message. host: as you watch that ad, your thoughts? guest: that is key to what we're seeing with veterans. veteran is not enough to decide these races. we have had a few veterans run and that is not a policy position. that is your experience. are are close and there going to be a few voters and look at her experience and say i can trust that person and she has more national security background than her opponent.

that is why as you heard from your last guest, so many of these races could come down to a handful of opinion switching at the last moment. being a veteran could be one of those factors. seeing someone in uniform could be enough to sway someone. says support for president trump is fading among active-duty troops. guest: this is our "military poll and we surveyed active-duty folks. there was some optimism when president trump came in that maybe he could get away from some of the campaign staff and be a uniter. we have seen a decline in his favorability rating. about a split now. much more favorable than the rest of the country. at the start of his presidency, half, half closer to

of folks supported him. in the exit polling, veterans and active military went for trump over clinton. it has been two years. that is affecting the military. we like to think of the military as outside the balance of politics. these are citizens and folks who are watching these stories, watching this controversy and having their opinion swayed by it. line set aside for those active or retired military. leo shane is our guest. another ad, a kentucky, the sixth congressional district challenging andy barr. >> i am amy mcgrath. the president was elected under our constitution that i risk my life to protect. i will never put party over country.

the naval academy that leaders must demonstrate honor over integrity. the american people paid for my education. i am determined to show you your investment in me was worth it. host: she does try to thread the needle. guest: she wants to appeal to military folks who voted for trump, who respect trump and see him as commander-in-chief and as someone who needs to be treated with respect that he is not getting right now. one of the seats democrats are hoping to get. she has to convince voters she can hold trump's feet to the fire and provide accountability. about the best example of what we're seeing for imocratic veterans of, how do say, i am going to be critical of trump without being disrespectful. host: what are the troops

talking about? guest: this midterm election has not hinged on national security and veterans'issues. folks that are heavily military care about what effect that has on the economy. what we hear is the same sort of things from the rest of the country. there are concerns about the economy, how is it going to work for them. veterans care that the military buildup that president trump has promised is going to happen. they want to make sure they are going to have jobs. are they going to be able to make that transition? the voterse not where they look at national security and military spending and say, that is my guy. factor if they

feel like one side is more heavily weighted. are tuning in from the u.k., we welcome our listeners. you can dial in. mike is from new york, democrats line. good morning. caller: how are you? host: we are fine. caller: yes, i will put it this way. work, it is good to see veterans run for office because they know what is going on in this world. as far as the abuse of power by the president of the united states to violate rules is wrong. host: we are getting a little bit of feedback. guest: the one issue we have seen start to pick up around military issues has been the deployment of troops to the southern border. should the military be involved?

is it a political issue? you start to see these candidates start to take sides on this. as veterans come in and talk about their experience and why they decided to serve, as they support or criticize the president, it does add more weight to their common on that issue. do they see it as a political stunt? they said i fully support this appointment. it is important to national security. it will be interesting to see does that play in arizona in a tight race. host: if you are active or retired military, (202) 748-8003 . the president launched the space force. how is that playing out? guest: it is an item of interest of than an actual voting shift.

we did polling on this. the approval and disapproval rating, it is split. some people like the idea of creating a new military branch specific first space activities and defense. a lot of folks, especially the concerns. have that is when you get into the issue of can you trust trump as commander-in-chief? this is one of a series of issues that they have been caught offguard by. if you're critical of trump, you are saying, here we go again, with trump coming up with an idea without the military being ready. republican, you are saying, he is building the military. from ohio, suzanne, you are next. good morning. caller: good morning.

host: go ahead. ohio outsidee in of akron. this is an industrial area. we keep here is that southern ohio from listening to fox news, we might be able to do something. person.ietnam era , his planeod friend was blown out of the sky over vietnam. i do not know what i am supposed to be saying. host: we will let you go. thank you for the call. guest: when we talk about the iraq we focus on

and afghanistan veterans, the upcoming group that is going to have influence. shows this is all generations. we have folks going back to the 1950's and we have folks in the last year. this is america, this is what the population is and a lot of different views, different baggage, different perspectives. what a lot of folks have hoped for is in a divided congress, if you've got somebody who served in vietnam and somebody who served in afghanistan, they have a common bond of knowing what it is to be in a combat zone, part of a team that has to make decisions on a battlefield. can that overcome some of the politics we see? you wrote five

congressional races with incumbent veterans to watch election night. colorado, the sixth district. the congressman is facing a tough challenge. >> this is two veterans running against each other. , afman has been a key member vocal critic of both parties and oversees the personnel subcommittee. somebody who is important in terms of defense policy on capitol hill but somebody who was on the bubble because of his district. he has seen a few challenges and manage to escape. could be set to upset him. these are the races that if the democrats want to overtake the house, they're going to have to find a way to win. has been able to rely on national security credentials and on his military background in a combat zone by bringing in

another veteran, you can blunt that. it is not just the experience but what their politics are. district,inia, second two navy veterans. scott taylor is facing a challenge against a fellow navy veteran. guest: this is going to be a tight race. the deciding factor, scott taylor is a heavily better in district. if scott taylor was running against someone who did not have any veteran experience, would he be able to pull those numbers and easier. that is taken out of the equation. it does refocus the equation on national security issues. there has been talk about boosting defense spending, the democratic challenger talked about how she supports the idea

of a navy because that is important to her district. democrats may have concerns about the spending, she will be one that is going to be talking about building up spending. host: we are talking about the military vote, veterans and running for the house and senate. from colorado, good morning. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. you need to turn the volume down. i know you are retired military. what branch? caller: united states navy seal. host: go ahead. turn the volume down. caller: i am sorry. i served in the navy seals in iraq.m and later in

[indiscernible] not in line with the way we think in colorado. i can guarantee the republicans are not going to win. host: thank you for the call. we have feedback but we got your point. guest: quite a long bit of service there. there is a perception that the military is conservative and you cannot find a democrat who served. what we have seen in our polling is that yes, there is a conservative bent but that is not universal.

cycle,seeing this democrats doing a better job of showing there are plenty of folks who have served who fall in line with democratic values and platforms. whether or not they can be a long-term success, whether we can find the next john mccain, a longtime veteran who served here and be that voice remains to be seen. in the short, im expecting to see more democratic veterans arrive on capitol hill. host: next sunday is veterans day, when world war i came to an end. before that, president trump will be in france for the ceremonies taking place in paris and elsewhere to commemorate those whose lives were lost 100 years ago. will be featured on c-span three american history tv. live coverage next sunday

morning on c-span. frank is joining us from fort lauderdale, florida. caller: i spent four years in the air force from 1966 to 1970. i served in turkey. it goes to show you what happened. turkey is hotter than th vietnam is. it has been a role reversal. i would like to ask, one of the things i thought about is that the u.s. has been engaged worldwide. theenounced isolationism in 1940's. hours ofout 18 grad level courses. i did book reviews. i have noticed that we are engaged worldwide. for a while, we were the only superpower in the world.

we probably still are to an extent. one of the things of that interests me is the fact that our last four presidents have been people who have little or no contact with the military itself. they are sending people in harm's way a lot of times. it seems as though this could be an issue in the future in the president,ur next i would like to see somebody who had some kind of military background. the fact that foreign affairs are important and even though that is not everything, we have diplomacy, too. you should have people that have links to the military and i do not think they have been adequate. one of the people i like is the representative from hawaii and ae is also somewhat of

noninterventionist. i thought containment was right on during the cold war and people like harry truman, d and later in, jfk ronald reagan did an exemplary job in diffusing the cold war. this is something we should think about, the idea of someone serving in the military. host: we understand your point. george w. bush did serve in the international guard. you are talking about combat. caller: right. host: we will get a response. guest: compared to george bush's comes up every cycle, how many of these candidates understand what it is going to mean to be commander in chief.

mixed opinions on whether that is key. in the last cycle, we had mike pence military families. son has been deployed and they have talked about the pressures on their family. joe biden the same thing. there is that factor. it is something people like to see. gives you aus unique perspective on what it means to commit folks to a war, even just to talk tough, to be using these threats. i think the last cycle and one of the things that through people off, there were only a few that served despite the fact we had over 20 candidates in the primaries. it remains to be seen whether that is a function of a smaller veteran population or whether that was an anomaly and whether

we will see more folks in the primary doing that. these are names that get thrown out there as folks who may be destined for a higher spot within the democratic party because of that status and on the republican side, a few people who could make that leap if they decide they want to challenge president trump. with a republican in common, that is less appealing. is fromr next caller tennessee. on the democrats i'm. good morning. caller: -- host: are you with us? we will try one more time. we move on to texas. good morning. caller: good morning to you, peter. i agree with the guest and i disagree with a couple of others. need to think we

have a military man in the highest office. i do think we have to have someone in that office who is a person who reads, who reads history, all different kinds of history and gets an understanding of foreign ,iplomacy and i do have to say i value our military a great deal. because i value them, i do not like to think of them being thrown into fruitless wars because we have war hawks surrounding the president, we have their agendas rather than what is good for the country, what is good for our military. host: we will get a response. talk toven if you veterans and folks promoting more military experience among candidates, they will to you that should not be the only

qualification. we do not have to have a commander in that to be legitimate. as we get to a society that gets ,urther away from the draft era there are fewer people who understand what it means to have a loved one deployed overseas. a factor init plays elections. folks say if you have gone overseas somewhere, if you serve domestically and you understand that lifestyle, you know what the sacrifices are, you know what it is like to be a civil servant than the rest of us. maybe you have insight i do not understand. it is a level of respect. how races --er house races. this is duncan hunter seeking reelection. guest: one of the better-known

veterans in congress. he has been accused of taking campaign money and using it for personal expenses, under --ictment, has been reviews has been removed from the house services committee. the polls are in his favor. how can someone with his qualifications be effective if he has that looming over him? host: his democratic challenger? guest: he has not served but he is talked about how duncan hunter has lost the values he learned in the military. there have been vicious attacks. duncan hunter has former generals campaigning on his behalf. you have got veteran starting to mix in with other issues. host: one final race, new jersey, and open seat, new

jersey 11. this is j weber. guest: this is one of those races, if democrats want the house, they are going to have to win it. thatis one of the ones goes to elections -- goes to republicans, it will be a long night for democrats. a female candidate who can be a leader on a lot of national security issues should she win, taking over a longtime republican. , it could set the tone for the night. about what they see on their campus. joining us now is our first guest, george with the post at ohio university who serves as a news reporter for that publication. good morning. guest: good morning. host: